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Shit. My girl’s going to need supervision to make sure she doesn’t do anything she’ll regret by morning.
And Jake is not pleased.
But she laughs and pulls me toward the dance floor area in front of the band. I don’t really want to dance but I go with her anyway. “What are you doing?” I ask her. “This drink is strong, girlfriend.”
“I told you, I’m ready to have some fun.”
Jake is watching her like a hawk. “Are you doing this just to rile…him?”
She glances over to where he’s glowering at her. “Who, Jake? No, of course not. Jake and I are old friends. He’s just having trouble letting go of the little sister image he’s always had of me. He’ll get over it.”
Okay, so they’re still at the stage where they’re not admitting to themselves or each other what seems sort of obvious to me. “Go easy, roomie,” I tell her. “I don’t want to have to carry you back to the dorm.”
“Just get Jake to do it,” she laughs. “I’m joking. But he would. He’d do anything for me. Grumpily, sure—but literally anything. Oh, here they come!” Two girls walk over to us and we move to the edge of the dance area so Isla can introduce me. “Lauren, Mollie, this is my roomie and new bestie, Zara.”
Our new suite mates are nice and I can tell the four of us are going to get along well. Lauren is a dance major, with dark brown hair and the petite, toned body of someone who’s spent half her life in pointe shoes. Mollie is curvy and has a short blond bob that curls at the end. She hasn’t decided her major yet. The two of them have been best friends all through high school.
The football players stand around a high table with stools placed around it. A waitress arrives with a pitcher of Coke and some glasses. People swarm around them and they’re joined by people they know. Everyone is gawking at them.
Elias O’Shea is still watching me. He crooks a finger, making a come here motion.
Wow, he’s beautiful.
Slowly, I shake my head. It’s a bad idea.
Slowly, he nods.
Don’t do it, girl.
I do it anyway, my feet carrying me toward him like they’re staging a mutiny over my sane mind.
“Hey, Zara.”
“Hey, Elias.”
“Imagine meeting you here. Twice in one day.”
“Yeah, imagine that.”
“How’d your day go?” he asks me.
Am I really making small talk with my dad’s hot star quarterback? Apparently so. “It was good.”
“What classes did you have?
“My first class of the day was Introduction to Painting. That’s my major. Painting. Well, fine arts.” Am I rambling? I tend to do that when I’m nervous.
The corner of his mouth quirks but his eyes are smoldering. “You’re an artist. I should have guessed from the paint.”
“Yeah.” I look down at my overalls. “It’s a dead giveaway. What about you? Besides football?”
“I’m a business major.”
“Like Gabriel.” I glance toward the group, where Isla, Mollie and Lauren are talking to Jake, West and Gabriel.
“I figured it would be a good fallback. In case football doesn’t work out.”
“Sounds like it’s working out pretty well.” My tongue touches my bottom lip and he watches the movement with rapt attention. “You probably won’t need a fallback.”
